CHAPTER 54: TRICKSTER

The Cyclops stared down at him for a long moment, its single eye burning through the dark.

Xenos met that giant eye without flinching, wearing the same expression he always had.

An insanely wide grin.

"What..."

The Cyclops spoke once more, continuing in English.

"...are you?"

Xenos didn’t bother answering.

He kept staring, one brow twitching slightly.

The Cyclops leaned closer, its hot breath washing over him.

"You can speak with a God, can’t you?"

Xenos gave a simple, small nod, as far from panic as ever.

"Do you not enact a payment?"

The Cyclops sounded confused.

"No."

Its massive eye narrowed.

"Then... how are you not insane?"

That one actually made Xenos pause.

’I... I never really bothered thinking about that.’

He had no clue why he could talk to Eris or how.

She was a God.

Once, She was a Higher God.

By all reason, his mind should’ve melted the first time She spoke to him.

So truly... how was he able to talk to Her, never mind housing Her within him?

Maybe that meeting with the Higher Gods had changed something fundamental in him.

Something deep that let this kind of insanity work, deeper than any Soul Glyph.

Something a lot more than he could expect.

"I..."

He looked back at the Cyclops.

"I’ve met many."

That was all he could say without revealing much.

But it was also his attempt at trying to scare it off.

An act that seemed to be working...

"You... you are familiar with Gods?"

Its tone had changed immediately.

Xenos chuckled, keeping it up.

"That’s the least of it."

He raised one finger lazily toward the ceiling.

"ᛋᚻᚬᚼ ᛃᛟᚬ ᛜᚪ ᛞᛎᚬ."

The Cyclops’s eye widened so much it almost popped.

It just heard this boy before it say a ridiculous thing.

’They are of me.’

Which, like all that came before it, wasn’t technically wrong.

A truth in a lie was what made it so believable.

"You can... speak the Arcane tongue?"

Now it sounded afraid.

What he did seemed to have frightened it a lot more than he expected, and so, not to give it a chance to recover...

"Yes. And I came here to witness your colony."

Xenos stepped closer.

"But now that I’ve been discovered, you’ll be my guide."

’Xenos!’

Eris’s voice screamed in his mind.

’What are you doing?! Just leave!’

He didn’t respond.

Leaving now or even stepping close to the exit would make him seem suspicious.

Or at least it’d give it time to think, and if there was one thing he knew about monsters this big, it was that he couldn’t let them think; he was better off taking control here.

"You heard me, get moving."

The Cyclops stiffened and slowly bowed its head.

"Understood."

"Good."

He followed as the creature turned and began walking deeper into Tartaros’s crust.

While passing by, Xenos extended his hand toward the glowing vent, the supposed exit.

He pulled every bit of Divinity leaking from it, absorbing the faint shimmer into his Soul.

His skin tingled faintly, the burning air around him easing enough to buy him a few more minutes before Corruption started chewing through his lungs again.

With that, they walked in silence, and Xenos liked that part.

There was no need for him to keep up appearances much.

The only noise around them was the echo of massive footsteps, the rhythmic hiss of bubbling lava rivers, and the grating of metal.

Eventually, that went away as the passage widened, opening into something massive...

’Wow.’

A city of stone and flame.

Black towers rose crookedly from the cavern floor; a few were half-collapsed, while most leaned into each other.

The same chains hung from above, this time supporting bridges made of bone and iron.

Lava pits glowed across the area, casting long red shadows over the ground.

Hundreds of Cyclopes moved about, hammering weapons, dragging carts, or simply standing guard.

Many would’ve panicked at such a sight.

Xenos, though, was grinning, the thrill, the tension, and the danger...

It made his heart pound.

He loved it.

"I see you still haven’t fixed this place."

The Cyclops beside him paused, clearly unsure how to respond.

"We... we are not that smart."

It said carefully, almost embarrassed.

Xenos laughed under his breath.

’Trust me, I can tell.’

He kept walking, brushing past groups of them until something caught his eye.

A line of cages was stacked up along the side of the cavern.

Each cage rattled and growled, full of different creatures:

Lizards with too many legs, half-burned hounds, and serpents made of bone.

"Is this your food for tonight?"

He glanced back, and the Cyclops rumbled.

"Yes."

Xenos’s gaze stopped on one cage.

Inside was a small, white creature...

A tiny wolf-like thing, with pure white fur and a single horn on its head.

Its big golden eyes blinked up at him.

It was... ridiculously cute.

"Cute dog."

The little thing tilted its head.

They stared at each other for a long moment.

A silent exchange neither could really explain.

Then Xenos nodded at it, as if agreeing on something.

"Let’s go check over there."

He turned away and pointed toward a tunnel past the cages.

"Everything looks good so far, but I want to make sure your wardens are strong enough to protect the crust."

That line, both official and commanding, worked like magic.

The Cyclops straightened, clearly proud, and lumbered ahead to lead the way.

Xenos waited until its back was turned before crouching beside the cage.

He quietly pulled the lock apart and opened it.

The white creature blinked, hesitating, before stepping out.

It stared up at him again, memorizing him with an intelligent look, then quickly darted away.

’Run free, dog-thing.’

He caught up with the Cyclops, who was already halfway down the path, but just before reaching the end, he stopped and glanced upward.

"Wait."

’Eris, talk to me.’

’You want it to think you’re being summoned?’

He nodded slightly, and Eris’s voice shifted, using more Divinity than usual:

’Xenos, return. Your Goddess commands you~.’

She played along perfectly, allowing him to confidently face the Cyclops.

"I’m being called elsewhere, for now; consider yourselves adequate."

The creature immediately bowed its head.

"We are honored by your presence. Thank you for approving us."

Xenos gave a simple nod and turned away, calmly walking toward the glowing vent at the entrance, making this seem as casual as possible.

The moment he stepped in, a powerful gust of air blasted upward.

It caught him instantly, lifting him off his feet and shooting him skyward through the layers of rock.

Light flooded his vision.

And then—

Ding!

—

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║NEW SOUL GLYPH ACQUIRED!║

╚════════════════════╝

[Trickster]

[Description: You have tricked Gods, Runebearers, and Monsters... none stand clear of your wit.]

—

Xenos laughed as he reached the clouds.

"How nice~."